Connects the Webvisitor to an Operator that matches a pre-configured Skill Set.

"Default" routing mode

The "Default" routing mode is simple: You connect a Chat Widget to a specific Operator Group and it will then connect any Webvisitor to one of this Group's Operators. If none of these are available, the Widget will fall back to its configured offline mode.

How to set it up

As the name indicates, the "Default" mode is the standard setting for any Widget. To change it, enter your Chat Widget's settings, then go to "Chat" > "Routing".

If you want to stick with or switch back to "Default" mode, ensure that the Operator Group connected to your Widget contains at least one Operator (indicated by the number in parentheses).

Things to consider

The "Default" routing mode is a good match...

if you are starting out with a small chat team or are mostly getting questions of similar type.

if you have a homogeneous chat team. If all your Operators are able to give the same quality of support throughout all areas, there is no reason to split them up into groups.

if you already route Webvisitors to specialized Groups through different Widgets on certain parts of your website. Creating, for example, a "Sales" and a "Support" Operator Group allows you to offer specialized support by connecting them to different Chat Widgets, which you then integrate in different sections of your site.

"Group Select" routing mode

The "Group Select" routing mode works with the same "Operator" - "Operator Group" relation as the "Default" mode. But instead of deciding for one fixed Operator Group for a Chat Widget, the "Group Select" mode allows your Webvisitors to pick a Group from a list that you pre-compiled. So they can be sure to talk to someone that is best suited to help them.

How to set it up

As with the "Default" mode, enter your Widget's settings, then go to "Chat" > "Routing".

Set the "Routing Mode" to "Group Select". In addition to the Chat Widget's default Group you can now select all other Operator Groups the Webvisitor should be able to choose from when connected with this Widget. Remember that you can only select Operator Groups that have a least one Operator in them.

Once updated, your Webvisitors can now pick a Group they prefer talking to before starting a chat - choosing from the Groups you pre-defined.

Things to consider

The "Group Select" routing mode is a good match...

when you have a heterogeneous and small chat team, in which the differently specialized Operators can nonetheless cover for each other. By setting the mode to "Group Select", Webvisitors can still reach somebody from your team even when the first-choice Group is currently not available.

when you have a large heterogeneous chat team but you want to let your Webvisitors decide to which specialist they want to talk. This is a good solution for sections of your site where visitors are equally likely to need technical support or a sales rep, for example.

"Skills" routing mode

The "Skills" mode is the most flexible routing mode. It does not rely on the fixed "Operator" - "Operator Group" relation but instead selects available Operators based on required Skill Sets. This means that you define which Skills you require for someone chatting via a certain Chat Widget. Every available Operator that possesses these Skills can be selected to talk to your Webvisitors, no matter their Group affiliation.

Your Webvisitors don’t have to take an extra step here - if they start a chat via a Chat Widget in "Skills" routing mode, you can be ensured they are always talking to someone who is able to help.

How to set it up

In order to use the "Skills" mode, you first have to create some Skills. Find the "Skills" configuration under "Config" in the main Dashboard navigation:

We provide you with some basic Skills to which you can add as many as you need to clearly define your Operators’ specializations. The overview shows you which of the existing Skills are assigned to your Operators and Chat Widgets.

To add a new Skill, click “Add Skill” and simply enter a name and a description. Skills can be anything you like or need, from languages spoken to organizational departments. Consider them as simple tags for Operators that allow you to later match these up with your Webvisitor’s needs.

Next assign the Skills to your Operators. Go to "Config" > "Operators" and enter an Operator’s settings:

Switch to the "Skills" tab in the Operator's settings. Here you find all existing Skills and can pick those that apply to the Operator:

Back in the Operator overview you see the updated Operator with the Skills you assigned to him:

In the final step, configure a Chat Widget to use the "Skills" routing mode. Go to "Config" > "Widgets" and select a Chat Widget to edit, then enter the routing settings under "Chat" > "Routing".

Set the "Routing Mode" to "Skills" and you can start creating new Skill Sets below. Create an empty Skill Set by clicking "Add Skill Set". To assign this Skill Set some of the previously configured Skills, click on "Add Skill".

A Skill Set can consist of one up to as many Skills as you see fit You can remove Skills from a Set by clicking on the trash can icon. You can also create another Skill Set for the Widget:

The configuration in the screenshot above will match an Operator who has the Skill "English" and one of the Skills "Sales" or "Support".

The configuration also illustrates the general rules at work: In order for Operators to receive chats via this Chat Widget, they have to match "at least one" of the defined Skill Sets "completely". So, Operators only possessing the Skill "English" are not suitable as matches for chats coming in via this Widget. Consider this before you create Skill Sets with too many Skills - you might not have enough Operators that possess all the required Skills to sufficiently man your Chat Widget.

Things to consider

The "Skills" routing mode is a good match...

if you have a large chat team with many different abilities. Instead of modelling a static structure via Operator Groups (e.g. your team structure, or your support topics) and connecting those permanently to a Chat Widget. With Skills you can precisely describe what abilities an Operator has to possess in order to be available to Webvisitors on this Widget.

basically anytime you wish you could put an Operator into two different Operator Groups. You have a small team, so your sales and support staff should also handle some of the general requests while still being available for their speciality topics? Create a Widget that only requires a certain language proficiency, as well as two Widgets that require the respective other Skills in their Skill Set. Then integrate them in the respective parts of your site.